Pneumatic heel



B. RUBEL PNEUMATIC HEEL May 2l, 1940.

Filed Aug. 1s, 1.958

INVENTOR. e/

ezwrq/ u A TTORN E Y.

Patented May 21, 1940 unirsi) STATE PNEUMATIG `HEEL Bernard Rubel, New York, N. Y;

Application August v13,

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to resilientheels or lifts for footwear, such as shoes, andv Amore `particularly to resilient heels having a hollow, cup-shaped insert ofg-reater resiliency, whereby .n greater ycomfort and ease of walking on such heels'is obtained, and to methods and molds for making such heels. y

In'Patent No. 2,145,994 issued to me February '7, 1939, I have described a resilient heel wherein u the main body portion of the heel is provided with a recess in its tread surface within which is loosely and removably arranged, in vdovetailed relation, a cup-shaped insert. Ai-r is trapped within the insert to be slowly released between the rel?? cess wall and the surface of the insert when pressure is applied upon Walking to the insert to thereby provide pneumatically resilient heel.

I havefound that the heel described in said copending application may beimproved by seal- :u ing the insert cup-along its upper edge to the -walls of therecess. Theinsert is thereby held in the recess in spaced-relation to the walls thereof to permit its compression'therein while walking, the-air from the cup being gradually to some 5, extent expelled intermediate the heel and the shoe to which it is attached. Y

YThe present invention, therefore, contemplates the provision of a heel having a main body por-- tion provided with an opening in `which a cupshaped insert is arranged and secured at its edge to the inner edge-of the opening, to thereby provide a shock absorbing member in the central portion of the heel and extending'therebelow.

This invention contemplates still further the provision of heels of the character described u wherein the insert is of a lmaterial which is'of greater resilience than the main body portion and wherein the main body portion is provided with from one embodiment of such heel which is illus- 50 trated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan viewv of the outer, tread'surface of the heel of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of thev inner surface thereof;

A height'less than1 the depth of the hollow 'to per- 1938, serial No. 224,717 (o1. en -35) Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View thereof taken along line 3'-3 of Fig.y 2;

The main body portion Hl of the heel of the present invention is of the usual outline,`and constructed, preferably, of the usual resilient hard 5 vulcanized rubber commonly usedl for the purpose. It is provided with the usual perlpherally arranged fastening nail or screw receiving recesses i2', each of which may be r-eenforced with the Iusual embedded perforated plates vor Washers i4.

The main body portion is provided with an opening it extendingthrough the. central portion thereof. Such opening may beM of any desired ou-tine, preferably of the general outline of the 16 heel, and may be of relatively extensive area.

`Arranged. in the opening I 6 and projecting therefrom on the tread side of the heel is an insert i8,'prei`erab1y of a substance of relatively higher resilience than the main body portion IIJ. 20

.In order to provide a maximum vof comfort in walking, the insert member I8 is hollow or cupshap'ed, with the cupped hollow 2l) facing 'the inside of the lheel so that air maybe trapped therein` between itself.v and the shoe heel surface to 25 whichit is attached, to form a pneumatic cushion from which the air to some extent will slowly escape lbetween the heel and the shoe. y vThe insert I8 is secured at its innermost edge,

throughout-the `periphery thereof to the inner- 3Q most edge of the opening I6. y

To permit the full impression and collapse of 1 the insert I8 under the impact of walking, it.

is arranged in the opening with its sides' 22 spaced from the walls vof the openings, thereby 36 providing the peripheral space 24 for the resilient expansion ofthe insert within the Opening. Such construction alsoV enhances the .non-skidcharacteristics of the heel by. allowing swaying room for the insert. y In order to reenforce the insert and, more particularly, to insure that it will not remain in collapsed state for a prolonged time after air is expelled therefrom through the space intermediate the heel and the shoe, as mightresult due to the facty that the pressure with which the heel is normally held against the shoe might prevent or retard the intake. of air therebetWeemI provide within the hollow of the insert one or more upstanding walls 926. Preferably, a plurality of such walls are provided, arranged'in web formation'to distribute their resilient'elfect throughout the insert. Preferably, also, such Ywalls are of a mit a relatively large degree of resilience for more ready compression.

It will be apparent that the walls 26 will accelerate the return of the insert to its normal shape immediately after walking pressure is relieved by their resilient tendency to straighten out, thereby creating suction for the return of air into the insert hollow under vacuum.

Preferably, to obtain increased air cushioning or pneumatic effects, the partitions may be arranged to form chambers, such as the circular chamber 28, where air may be further trapped to be slowly released and thus obtain increased cushioning.

The tread surface I9 of the insert preferably extends approximately 1/8 of an inch below the tread surface 2l of the main body portion of the heel.

In association with the insert, the heel may be provided with a plurality of studs 30 formed of the main body portion of the heel and preferably arranged peripherally about the insert, as intermediate the fastening recesses I2.

The studs 30 project slightly above the general surface of the main body portion of the heel but to a lesser height than the projection of the insert i8, and their resilience may be increased by rendering them interiorly hollow, by providing the recesses 32 extending from the underside of the heel into such studs, and by providing the annular grooves 34 sunk into the tread surface of the heel about the studs, thus rendering the studs of relatively greater resilience than the main body portion of the heel from which they are formed.

It will be apparent that the heel of the present invention is resilient, durable and economical, and that it possesses the further quality that its resilience is progressively decreased as it is trod on, resulting in the gradual increase of resistance to tread pressure, thereby reducing the shock of walking. This results from the fact that, when treading on the heel, the furthest projecting relatively more resilient insert first meets the ground and is compressed against gradually increasing resistance offered by the entrapped air and the supporting walls 26, until the pressure is taken up by the studs 30 which are of a less resilient material than the insert but are of amore resilient construction than the heel body l of which they are a part, and these studs are mushroomed or' depressed gradually, with increasing resistance, into the surrounding grooves 34, until the least resilient main body portion of the heel is trod on.

To enhance the ground gripping qualities of 'the heel of the present invention, its more resilent parts, such as the insert, and the studs, may be provided with groundgripping treads 36, such as a diamond tread on the insert and the concentric circular tread on the studs. It will be lapparent that these treads, in addition to the snubbing effect provided by the spaces 24 and 34 about the insert and studs, respectively, will increase the non-skid properties of the heels of1 the present invention.

While any means for securing the insert to the heels may be used, such as cementing or the like, I prefer to accomplish the same by molding the resilient main heel portion and the relatively more resilient insert integrally, thereby obtaining maximum strength and durability.

This vcompletes the description of one embodiment of the heel. As it is obvious that many modifications and variations may be made in the embodiment' described with the use of mere mechanical skill and within the spirit and scope of my invention, it is to be understood that I desire to be protected for any such modifications and variations that are within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

I claim:

1. A heel for a shoe comprising a resilient body portion having a central opening and an insert of relatively greater resiliency arranged with the said opening, said insert being secured by the inner edge of its peripheral wall throughout its circumference to the inner edge of the wall of the said opening and arranged therein in spaced relation to its walls and projecting outwardly thereof, whereby the projecting insert portion may dispose itself, when trod upon within the said space.

2. A heel for a shoe comprising a resilient body portion having a central opening and a substantially cup shaped insert of relatively greater resiliency arranged in spaced relation within the said opening, the said insert being secured by its edgethroughoutitscircumferenceto the inner edge of the said opening, and projecting outwardly of the opening, whereby said insert, upon contact, will be compressed within the said space to form an air pocket with the underside of a shoe.

3. A heel for a shoe comprising a resilient body portion having a central opening and a substantially cup-shaped insert of relatively greater resiliency arranged within the said opening to project outwardly thereof with its cavity facing the shoe contacting surface, the said insert being secured at its inner edge, throughout its circumference, to the inner edge of the said opening, and spaced therefrom throughout the remainder of its height, whereby air trapped within the said insert will be prevented from escaping through the said opening, the said insert being provided interiorly with a web of upstanding walls whereby it is prevented from remaining in collapsed state after pressure is removed.

4, A rubber heel comprising a resilient body member, a plurality of studs projecting from the tread side of said body member, said stud being hollowed interiorly and provided with outer bounding grooves in the heel body surface, whereby said studs are rendered of relatively greater resilience than the main portion of the body member, said body member having a central opening and a cup shaped insert of relatively greater resilience arranged within the said opening in spaced relation thereto and secured by its inner edge, throughout its circumference, to the inner edge of the opening, whereby air caught in the insert cup is prevented from escaping through the said opening, the said insert projecting outwardly from the ,said opening beyond the said studs whereby the resilience is gradually diminished and the shock of walking gradually absorbed.

5. A rubber heel comprising a resilient body member, a plurality of studs projecting from the tread side of said body member, said stud being hollowed interiorly and provided with outer bounding grooves in the heel body surface, where by said studs are rendered of ,relatively greater resilience than the main portion of the body member, said body member having a central opening and a cup-shaped insert of relatively greater resilience arranged within the said opening in spacedirelation thereto and secured by its inner edgehthroughout its circumference, to the inner'edge of the opening, whereby air caughtl in the insert cup is prevented from escaping through the said opening, the said insert projecting outwardly from the said opening beyond the said studs whereby J[he resilience is gradually diminished and the shock of walking gradually absorbed, the said insert being provided interiorly with an upstanding Wall, whereby it is prevented from remaining in collapsed state after walking pressure is removed.

tion of the cup-like member extending below the said body portion.

7. A rubber heel comprising a body portion having an opening arranged centrally thereof, a cup-like member having a comparatively thin wall section arranged Within the said opening and secured to the inner edges thereof at the upper edges of the cup wall, the walls of the cuplike member being arranged in spaced relation to the wall of the said opening and the convex portion of the cup-like member extending below the said body portion, and upstanding resilient walls formed in a web on the inner face of the convex portion of the cup-like member of a height less than the walls thereof.

BERNARD RUBEL. 

